Antrostomus carolinensis
 
The first time I heard a Chuck-Will ’s-Widow, I didn’t realize I was hearing a bird. I kept hearing a whirring sound through my open window at night and thought my neighbors had some machinery running or something. When I finally got up to investigate, I realized it might be an animal and tried my Merlin app. Up popped Chuck-Will’s-Widow immediately. I had never even heard of this bird, even though I was familiar with other species of the Nightjar family. We had treated Common Poorwills and Lesser Nighthawks when I worked in wildlife rehabilitation. I had been lucky enough to see a Common Nighthawk while camping in Colorado, and had often heard of Whip-Poor-Wills, but just not this species.

Nightjars are nocturnal, usually ground-dwelling birds that look like they have tiny beaks until they open their mouths. It is like their whole head hinges in half and their mouths are enormous! While these giant mouths are used to catch insects, there is an ancient superstition that the birds use them to suck the teats of goats under the cloak of darkness. Therefore, you will also hear these birds referred to as goatsuckers. Needless to say, these birds don’t do this.
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I haven’t actually seen a Chuck-Will’s-Widow, but they are apparently about a foot long, and speckly-brown for camouflage. When I’m out walking at night, I can hear them more clearly hiding in thickets. I’ll keep looking, but until then, I will continue to drift off to sleep to their whirring calls.

Haemorhous mexicanus

You may be asking yourself why I am bothering to write about the House Finch. They aren’t rare; in fact, they may be the most common backyard bird in North America. But this is exactly why they need to be written about. How can we appreciate nature if we don’t value the species we see most often!

House Finches range across the United States, southern Canada, and Mexico, but this wasn’t always the case! They were sold on the East Coast as caged “Hollywood Finches.” When this was unsuccessful, a small number of finches were released on Long Island in 1940. It didn’t take the birds long to adapt and spread. They have also been introduced in Hawaii. As with most nonnative species, we have humans to thank for their distribution.

The male’s cheerful red color actually comes from pigments in the food they eat. Because of this, their colors can vary to more orange or yellow. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male. Score one for the red heads!

House Finches are seed eaters, but the parents feed their young only plant matter.  This is a rare occurrence in the animal world. The adults prefer small, black oil sunflower seeds if you are filling your feeder.

We saw many House Finch babies at California Wildlife Center. Animal care staff had to check the babies’ crops to see if they were full because they would just keep eating! The hatchlings are altricial, meaning they are born with their eyes closed and without feathers. The alternative is precocial – think baby chickens and ducks, that emerge fully feathered and ready to go.

As they mature, the House Finch chicks will grow feathers and become fledglings. They will leave the nest before they are ready to fly and learn to fly from the ground up. Don’t worry! Mom and Dad are still keeping an eye on them and feeding them. If you find a fledgling bird on the ground, meaning a young bird who can stand/hop around and with most of their feathers, leave them alone. This is a naturally occurring part of their development. If they are in a dangerous place like the middle of the street, you can move them out of the street to under the nearest bush, but don’t take them too far. If you watch from a distance, you will likely see Mom or Dad stop by for a feeding.
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I personally love HOFIs (the four-letter banding code given to House Finches). I still smile when I hear their cheerful call, see the male’s striking red head, or, best yet, hear the tiny cheeps of baby finches. I hope I never tire of these “common” yet extraordinary birds. 

Strix varia

The first Barred Owl I encountered was a patient at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary. I made a joke about how the Owl liked Shakespeare, playing on the Barred/Bard pun, but no one got it. Now I wonder how the animal had veered so far off course. They are found east of Kansas and make their way west through Canada into the Pacific Northwest.

Now that I am officially in their range, there is a mating pair that lives near my home. I can hear them calling to each other. Their call is described as, “who cooks for you?” which is fairly accurate. While I am normally irritated by things that keep me awake, I love hearing this pair.

I haven’t actually seen them yet. I had forgotten they are larger than Barn Owls. There are a number of tree green belts around where I live, which I’m sure is where they live. Barred Owls like mixed forests near water, and there is a lovely creek, although normally they prefer mature forests. They eat small animals and, like many species of owls, are cavity nesters; however, like species such as Great-Horned Owls, they will commandeer nests built by other species such as Red-Tailed Hawks.
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I’m going to keep looking for them in the evenings. For now, I will continue to listen to their nightly sonnets. 

Cardinalis cardinalis
 
I remember very distinctly the first time I ever saw a Northern Cardinal in real life. I was in my mid-20s and was taking a train from DC to New York and there he was, flying next to the train! I was so excited! My sister, who had lived on the east coast for some time, at this point, was unimpressed, but I had only ever seen them on Christmas cards!

Cardinals are common backyard birds in their range, which includes the Eastern United States and Mexico, plus parts of Southern Arizona and the tip of Baja California. They nest in shrubs, and prefer open woodlands, which is how I would describe most suburban neighborhoods. They are seed eaters, so would find bird feeders attractive.

Cardinals are rather notoriously noisy and that is partly because the female also sings, calling to the male from the nest, probably reminding him to bring back food for her and the kids. Most female songbirds don’t really have calls, and I must admit, I love the idea of the female Cardinal nagging her mate.
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Now that I live in Kansas, they are probably the most common bird in my area. They are usually the first bird that pops up on Merlin, but I am still excited to see these noisy, bright red birds. Do people really become blasé about seeing them? I hope I never do.

Sialia currucoides vs. Sialia Mexicana

On a recent walk in our neighborhood, I saw some large flocks of bright blue birds. I couldn’t tell if they were Western Bluebirds, or Mountain Bluebirds. Some had rust colored chests and other were all blue. Turns out, we have BOTH species in our neighborhood!

We are very fortunate that both species overlap here. Colorado Springs is at the far Eastern edge of the Western Bluebird’s range, while being smack in the middle of the Mountain Bluebirds. They live in similar habitats, both preferring open woodlands.

It turns out the Western Bluebirds have the rusty chest, and the Mountain Bluebirds do not. In both species, the female is not as colorful. They have different hunting habits, too. While both eat insects, the Western Bluebird tends to drop suddenly to the ground to hunt, and the Mountain Bluebird hunts from perches or on the wing.

Both species are cavity nesters. Bluebirds will find holes in trees created by woodpeckers and use them for nesting. However, with dead, holey trees harder to come by, they have taken to using nest boxes. CornellLab’s NestWatch has some great nest box plans so you can invite some of these striking birds into your garden!

Colaptes auratus

All it takes is a flash of russet wings and I am so excited. It's a Northern Flicker! The first time I remember seeing one was in Arizona. We lived next to the National Forest, which was mostly pine trees, so it was their common habitat. I had seen a western Northern Flicker, which have the red wings, as opposed to the eastern Northern Flicker, which have yellow wings. I have never seen an eastern in person and would love to see pictures!

Northern Flickers are woodpeckers, but they don't really peck wood. They tend to eat insects off the ground instead. And even though they live in most of North America year-round, I usually only see them when the weather is fine.

These Flickers are very beautiful birds. The western birds have a red "whisker" on the side of their face, and a black chest. They are tan with gorgeous black spots, and, of course, their colorful wings.

I usually hear Northern Flickers before I see them. Thankfully my Merlin app (which I highly recommend) lets me id them from their piercing call.

Just the sight of a Northern Flicker brings me such joy. I hope you get to see one so it can bring you joy, too!

Turdus migratorius

You know spring has sprung when you start seeing Robins everywhere. I looked out of the window today and saw 10 in the yard! Fun fact from All About Birds, Robins do actually overwinter throughout much of their territory in the United States. While some do head to Mexico for the winter and others head to Canada for the summer, most stay put all year. So why do we associate them with the spring? In actuality, they are likely just more active as spring returns. There is more food available and they are noisier and more gregarious as they look for mates.

Even though they are considered common birds and are found throughout most of North America, I still get excited every time I see one. I feel like I have spotted a bird celebrity! Perhaps I am influenced by the folklore that they are harbingers of good fortune. Perhaps I should by a lottery ticket after seeing so many at once!

Their most distinguishing feature is their “red” breast. I know, it is orange, but go back a while and there was no word for the color orange. People just called it red. That’s why gingers are called red heads and not orange heads. It wasn’t until relatively recently that people started calling the yellow red color orange. The color was named after the fruit and not the other way around. That is your etymological lesson for the day. 😊

Back to Robins – they are common backyard visitors, so you have a good chance of seeing one.  They eat both fruit and invertebrates, but apparently if they eat too many honeysuckle berries, they become intoxicated. I have never seen a drunk Robin, but it is now on my bucket list.
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Next time you are out and about, look for these delightful birds!

​Pica hudsonia
 
I figured I would start with one of the most ubiquitous birds where I am currently living in Colorado Springs, the Black-billed Magpie. This is not to be confused with the Yellow-billed Magpies I would see when I lived near Sacramento in California.

Magpies are Corvids, which means they are related to Crows, Ravens, and Jays. Corvids are known for being super smart and Magpies are no exception. My most common interaction with them is at my mother’s chicken coop. They know there is food in there and the Magpies are working out a way to get it. They are also commonly found in urban areas, with trash cans being a popular food-gathering spot. Utilizing humans for food is not a new occurrence. According to All About Birds, Magpies would follow Plains Tribes hunting parties and eat their leftovers and they even entered the tents of Lewis and Clark looking for food!
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Their nature has led them to get a bit of a bad reputation. I remember telling someone that I enjoyed watching them and the response was less than supportive. But then again, a lot of people don’t like Corvids in general because they will pull trash out of a can looking for food and can make messes. Is it their fault they are intelligent enough to dig through our waste for a tasty morsel? If you don’t like it, secure your trashcan. Otherwise, be willing to share.
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Magpies have easily adapted to the presence of humans, which is why they are so successful. Other bird species have had a more difficult time with human habitation and their numbers are suffering for it.
Aside from being fun to watch their rather cheeky behavior, they are also beautiful birds! Their black/blue wing feathers iridesce in the sunlight! They can be loud and chattery, but who of us aren’t when we get together with friends?

If you are looking to see the Black-billed Magpie, they have a wide range from southern Alaska, east into Canada, and south into the United States east of the Great Lakes. As I mentioned earlier, they aren’t picky about habitat, or food, for that matter.

Here’s hoping to inspire a little more appreciation for these clever birds!